Broadcast busybodies have been at it again, with Japan’s toothlesss TV watchdog BPO receiving all manner of complaints about TV anime, ranging from “obscenity” to inappropriate behaviour at a fictional funeral.

Although the overall numbers of youth TV related complaints are down slightly (perhaps because everything raunchy has already been forced off the air), being reduced by 20 to 129, the usual faintly ridiculous moralist complaints about the evils of anime are still well in evidence:

“There was a scene of a funderal in an anime, and my child found it so creepy that they are still shaking even now.

There were horribly indecent jokes, sexual depictions and insults toward the dead. I wouldn’t have thought this was a supper-time programme.

Even an adult like me was put out.”

“I’m surprised by the amount of murder you see on TV these days. It can’t be helped with news, but they are in almost every drama and may anime aimed at children. I feel a lack of creative effort and originality is responsible.

They are going to make children think murder is an every day occurrence.I think broadcasts in this timeslot should be trying to inspire their dreams.”

Sex gets a look in, as always:

“Recently many late night anime have become obscene. They say lascivious things, girls show off their pantsu, it’s all very disagreeable.

And the seiyuu in these series are often minors! However popular, it’s inappropriate for them to be voicing characters in these kinds of anime. Isn’t some kind of ban in order here?”

Gratuitous cruelty, in more ways than one:

“A recent late night anime had constant lurid scenes of bizarre murder and massacre. And at the end they reveiled everyone had tricked the protagonist and that you’d have to watch to movie to find out what happens. Such scenes of cruelty and farcical content are most disagreeable.

There were mosaics and so on, but no matter how late at night this programme is, I can’t accept it as being a normal programme for terrestrial TV.”

And of course, the evils of smoking;

“In a certain popular anime there are often scenes with the main character smoking. This series ispopular with both kids and adults, I think they should stop including content which could encourage middle and high schoolers to try smoking.”

Otaku waste no time in condemning all this:

“Could they just not watch the TV?”

“If you don’t lik it, don’t watch it! Especially late night anime.”

“What funeral? Negima’s?”

“Gintama?”

“What minor seiyuu? Who?”

“The smoking stuff is Working?”

“How many times do we have to tell them, those are trousers, not pantsu.”

“They are watching late night anime just to have something to complain about?”

“These people are warped, they want a world cleansed of every last speck off dirt.”

“Obviously it isn’t mainstream or else it would not be on late at night.”

Anime watchers who watched all of those complained scenes:
At beyond-scale downscaling, some 1 million.

Stupid people who prefer to make a fuss over simply switching the channel:
Now down to 129.

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Isn't the answer pretty obvious?
A ban is indeed in order! -> Complaints about fictional material are banned!

They provided the proof of Ishiraha's bans by themselves!

"I’m surprised by the amount of murder you see on TV these days."

DUH! You should be even more concerned about murder that does't make it to the TV! It exists and is more frequent that you think!

Actually, murder is not the only violence out there!
People driving drunk are killing innocent people!
People involved with drugs, are also killing!
Even normal people with normal lives, they sometimes do something stupid and someone ends up injured for life!

"They are going to make children think murder is an every day occurrence."

The simple fact is that death and violence ARE EVERY-DAY OCCURRENCE! What matters is whether of not children are taught it is wrong, and that tough they 'may' (they most surely will at some point) see violence, it does not make it right.

The "just because others are doing it doesn't mean i can" rule is something retards like these complainers never heard about. I am sorry for they'r children, for to have such braindead parents sure make them commit a lot of mistakes and make they'r life tough.

"I think broadcasts in this timeslot should be trying to inspire their dreams."

Face reality! This world is not perfect and its not because of anime displaying pinky ponies walking on a rainbow its gonna turn any better! If the children have not mentally evolved enough to understand what they are watching on TV, it's THE PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO APPLY RESTRICTIONS to what they watch, NOT TV's BROADCASTER'S.

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One thing i can tell for sure. It's not because of fictional material, be it anime or whatever, that this age is so messed up. IT IS BECAUSE OF UNTHINKING-SCUM LIKE ISHIHARA AND THOSE COMPLAINERS, BRAINWASHING THE CHILDREN WITH CRAP INSTEAD OF OPENLY TALKING TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY WILL FACE IN LIFE AND WHAT ARE THE WAYS TO DEAL WITH IT.

Great post man. I've often said the same thing, but usually get the same response. The response is somewhere along the lines of they can't watch their children at all times. Facepalm material for sure.

You also have to keep in mind these are the same twits that watch soap operas, horror movies, crime drama, and the various other shows that without their destructive tones would be an empty shell.

People from older generations have this false illusion that things were safer back in their days, when it's just that they didn't go reported (like those rapists that have had captive girls for 20-40 years but we just found out recently) or the police and technology weren't able to catch up most of the criminals. Now at least we can find a good chunk of the scum out there and have it broadcast instantly.

dude even if you don't like it they have a point, everything is murders in tv, and well i was amongst the ones who thought tv and movies were a means of scape from everyday problems for a while, but if they only keep going at it what is the use? regarding the rainbows and unicors, it's so important that
they created that my little pony thing.

I grew up with the 80s action movies where the main guy kills a horde of bad guys(tm). For some odd reason I haven't killed anyone yet. It's almost as if children are actually intelligent enough to distinguish between reality and fiction.

Might be disagreeable to the fems. I wouldn't want to see some dude in his tighty whites or silk boxers. That would be very disagreeable to me. Although if I was a fem I personally wouldn't mind seeing some other fems pantsu or w/e. Ah....I hope to be reincarnated as a lesbian. I wonder ho0w good I'll have to be in this life.

Kids don't smoke because some anime character tells them to. They smoke for the same reason adults do: to relieve anxiety and depression. Anyone would be depressed if they have to deal with moralists like these guys...

No wonder kids smoke; it helps. Not as much as drugs, but at least they're not doing drugs, right...?

And it's a big no-no anyway, even in late night anime. Bakemonogatari had a guy disembowled and flung around by his entrails...but they deliberately did not show Oshino with a lit cigarette so as to avoid problems with the usual bitchers and whiners.
Amazing.
Not to mention the contortions shows go through now to make sure underage drinking is never shown--even university students aren't allowed to so much as talk about it! In the commentary for Genshiken, it was mentioned they had to remove an improvised background "filler noise" comment because the actor said "Hey, let's all go for a drink!"

Tabacco is cancerous, highly toxic and physically addictive. Alcohol and several other so called "drugs" are neither of those. Sure, some people can become addicted to alcohol but that's purely psychological.

Tabacco itself is not cancerous. On the other hand most/all kinds of smoke are. Regarding toxicity alcohol is most certainly toxic (ever heard about alcoholics having liver problems?).
Lastly, just drinking enough of pure water will make you die in a probably highly unpleasant way from loss of minerals. Not to mention drugs which are all pretty much toxic, sorry to burst your imaginary world.

Actually most kids who start to smoke do so because the cool kids do. And people continue because they get addicted.
While nicotine can have stimulating and sedative effects, saying that that's the reason people smoke is generally bollocks. And there are safer and more effective drugs out there.
Furthermore, when they show characters who smoke, they usually don't portray them getting smoking-related health problems and eventually dying of lung cancer.

Not trying to boast or what, but I grew up watching countless anime, cartoons, movies, sitcoms and TV series with men puffing (hell, even my waifu is a loli who smokes a pipe) and yet my lips still manage to keep its record for being 24 years free from touching the tip of any cigarette. The main reason is simple; none of those shows even effected me to start smoking like any delinquents or problem kids do back in my highschool.

Really, kids smoke because other kids and "cool" teens do. It's called peer-pressure. 90% of today's youth considers it cool to smoke. Should someone refuse to smoke he's instantly rejected from the group. No kid wants to be alone, so they give in to the pressure.

I must be strong then. Despite all my problems with socialization throughout my small life, I've managed to never even try smoking or do drugs. Alcohol, yes, but moderately and only on special occasions. Obviously that the parents helped me with proper education but people should be able to say no. It's easier than it seems. I don't get why it's so complicated to assertively say a one syllable word.

Well, the marijuana plant is actually less harmful than tobacco or alcohol, so if you consider that a drug and stay away from it but drink, I have to laugh. Thankfully I don't live in the United Delusion of America.

The only 2 downsides to marijuana are short term memory loss if you chainsmoke weed (which stops as soon as you stop) and the inhaling smoke into your lungs (which is bad for any type of smoking, and can be avoided with volcanizers etc.) and even with that, marijuana has something in it which actually counteracts some of the negative effects of the smoke, making it the best thing TO smoke if you are going to smoke anything.

Of course, I don't use marijuana myself, but I don't smoke or drink either. Not because I'm some kind of repressed nut, just because I don't feel the need.

Even though a lot of teenagers smoke around where I live, I find it's more of a family/friend influence.
If the parents are full on smokers and drinkers, then the chances of their kids doing the same will be pretty high.
Where I live, the teenage smokers are more or less all part of the same crowd. They think they are 'cool'.
I myself am a teenager, and although I've had the occational drink, I will never, ever smoke anything.
No matter how much I am pressured to do it and no matter the influences around me, I will not smoke.
Personally I find it incredibley disgusting, and I stay away from smoke as much as I can. I have a friend who is just the same.
I would say the percentage of teens where I live who do smoke to who don't smoke is probably around 50/50.
If I were ever part of a group of smokers who tried to make me smoke, I would, frankly, not give a shit what their responses were. I make my own decisions and no one will change that. I'm more than happy to become a loner rather than be pressured into smoking.